


Everything Stays (Epilogue)

by sleepy_sphinx



Series: The Garden AU [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Arson, Arson with marshmallows, Family Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, General Remus Discomfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Unsympathetic Logan, Implied Unsympathetic Patton, Implied Unsympathetic Roman, Remus deals with his emotional issues from HITG, Song: Everything Stays (Adventure Time), Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, dark side family, updated in light of a new revelation from SVSR!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepy_sphinx/pseuds/sleepy_sphinx
Summary: Years after Deceit and Anxiety rescued Remus, the three sides are called once again into the subconscious. Which means it's finally time for Remus to return to his garden. This time, though, he has people to keep him company- and the gasoline he brought doesn't hurt, either.(note: this is a direct sequel/epilogue to my fic "here in the garden", so it might not make sense unless you read that first~)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Dark Side Family - Relationship
Series: The Garden AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658143
Comments: 12
Kudos: 107





	Everything Stays (Epilogue)

**Author's Note:**

> woo I'm back!!! it's been FOREVER since I've actually posted anything... but anyway! I meant to write something else but then I decided to get this out of the way since the next episode looks like GREAT prompt material for someone with an unsympathetic patton au like myself. So here we are!!! enjoy some fluffy family bonding times!!! also sorry it's kinda short.
> 
> (This fic probably won't make sense unless you've read "Here In The Garden" so. do that, i guess? if you don't want to though i'm very willing to answer any questions in the comments!)

_Let’s go in the garden_

_You’ll find something waiting_

_Right there where you left it_

_Lying upside down_

_When you finally find it_

_You’ll see how it’s faded_

_The underside is lighter_

_When you turn it around..._

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Virgil asked for the twentieth time. Remus nodded chipperly, despite the fact he was not at all sure about anything. The last time he had been in the subconscious… well, he didn’t want to think about it. Which naturally meant it was all he could think about. Visions of gray mist and blue doors and the inescapable sound of silence ran through his mind, carving deep grooves into his brain. 

But this time it was going to be different. This time he came prepared with the supplies he needed in an old leather satchel. And this time, he wasn’t alone– Virgil walked alongside him, while Janus (who had chosen his name with a delightful sense of irony) scouted up ahead. Remus exhaled. Everything was going to be fine. “I’m wonderful, Virge! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Virgil glared at him, suspicion shining in his heterochromatic eyes (One purple for his old form, one green for the creator of his new one). “I’m just worried…”

“Woah, really? I expected you to be super chill, _Anxiety._ ”

“Yeah, yeah, very funny... but seriously.” Virgil stopped walking, putting a hand on Remus’s shoulder. “You… you didn't have to come with us–”

Remus shrugged the anxious side off of him. “Sure I did! Someone has to be imaginative enough to sustain the three of us so that no one will slip and fall into the sucking void of the unconscious! And besides, I’m really looking forward to meeting our new friend! I’m fine!!!” To prove his point, Remus allowed his smile to stretch wider than physically possible on most humans. 

Virgil still didn’t look fully convinced. He fidgeted with the sleeve of his oversized black hoodie, a nervous tick that he had developed soon after he gained a physical form. “Look, I don’t think I would be fine, if I had to go back– If I had been through– I just– I don’t want you to–”

“Oh, _do_ take your time, you two,” Janus called from up ahead. “I absolutely _love_ spending time in the subconscious, and I bet the new side does too! It’s not like there’s a rush or anything!” 

“You heard the boss!” Remus said jovially, beginning to speed up. Virgil sighed, resigned, and followed suit. Eventually, the two caught up with Janus, who was busy examining an odd-looking compass. There was a gray arrow in the center, resting limply against the back of the clock. Janus hissed in frustration and hit the side of it with a gloved hand. “At this rate, we’re never gonna find him…”

A few weeks ago, Virgil had noticed some strange lights coming from the subconscious, huge columns of orange flame erupting into the air at random intervals. Janus had determined that the fires must have been caused by the emergence of yet another side– which made sense, considering Thomas was almost out of middle school at this point, Virgil and Remus were both steadily growing stronger, and it was generally a very tumultuous time. And if a new side was going to emerge, they sure as hell were going to get to him before Morality did. Remus had quickly thought up a compass of sorts to track the energy outbursts (sneaking into Logic– er, _Logan’s_ room to steal the parts was the most fun he’d had all week, even if Janus had banned him from releasing moths into the teacher's library). He had also packed some tools of his own: an enchanted beaker with an infinite amount of gasoline inside and a box of matches, both tucked snugly inside a brown satchel. But he wasn’t going to think about those, just yet, or he might get reminded of–

_“So you stay in the garden, where you can’t hurt anyone!”_

The needle of the compass light up orange, startling Remus back to the present. It turned abruptly eastward, practically tugging itself out of Janus's hands in its eagerness to point him in the right direction. 

Janus smiled. “It’s about time. Come on, we’re probably close.”

“Hell yeah we are!” Remus shouted, pumping his fist in the air. 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Don’t celebrate just yet. That’s what he said _last_ time.”

“No I didn’t, you must be misremembering.” Janus’s voice was coated in false confidence as he turned left and began to follow the glowing arrow. Remus closely followed the snake, keeping time with his brisk footsteps. Until he spotted something– some sort of structure, surrounded by mist, with crumbling walls made of faded blue stones. Janus and Virgil noticed it too– The former stopped in his tracks, while the latter placed a hand on Remus’s shoulder. Remus didn’t pull away this time. 

“It’s still standing,” Remus said plainly. “Guess I have some unfinished business, huh?” He pulled a match out of his bag, hands shaking a little. He wasn’t sure why– wether from excitement, or nerves, or if all of his repressed memories of this place were worming around under his skin and trying to burst their way out in a bloody mess. Remus wished they’d do that, if only to get them out of his head. At least burning the place to the ground would be a start… “Mind if I take a quick detour, Jannie?”

“Not particularly,” Janus said, eyeing the match in Remus’s hand with suspicion. “I’ll– I’ll leave you to that. I, uh, hope that arson gives you the psychological relief you crave. Not that I care.” He gave Remus and Virgil an awkward nod before turning his attention back to the compass. As he walked away, Virgil grabbed his arm and whispered something harsh in his ear. Janus blinked, before looking at Remus guiltily. “...What I meant to say, of course,” he added, “Was that I _of course_ am going to stay. Because I’m a supportive– BECAUSE I THINK FIRE LOOKS COOL.”

“Thanks, Snake Dad.” Remus grinned. “And thanks to Virgil, to reminding him of my delicate psychological state and abandonment issues!” 

Janus sighed at the creative side’s lack of tact, cleverly hiding his guilty conscience from anyone who didn’t know him well. Virgil just nodded, before gesturing to a section of the old wall that had crumbled all the way to the floor. “Shall we?” 

It wasn’t right that the garden looked the same. It wasn’t fair. Everything else had changed so much, and yet his former prison was in the same, sorry state he had left it in. Remus half-expected to find his own long-gone skeleton lying among the mist, for this to all have been some sort of dream, for the twist at the end to be that he was dead all along. How unoriginal. 

“I thought there’d be more foliage,” Janus remarked, picking at the brittle branches of a skeleton-like tree. “This is going to be a horribly disappointing fire.”

Indeed, the only green thing in the garden was Remus’s sash (He had intended to stick with the rainbow one the original creativity wore, but it just didn’t feel right after a while. He would have preferred something in a dirty brown or the gray-beige of rotting flesh, but eventually decided on the green to spite _someone's_ red). The plush grass on the ground had shriveled away a long time ago to reveal gray-brown dirt, which was already beginning to coat Virgil’s sneakers and his own black boots. He could no longer hear the familiar babble of the fountain– it must have shut down long ago. Remus wasn’t sure if he was sad or not. For now, he simply reveled in his own twisted nostalgia... until something shiny and new caught his eye. Remus froze. 

The polished green gemstone was smaller than he remembered it. Of course, during his many conversations with Roman, he hadn’t really remarked at its size… 

Memories stabbed him like a knife, like a dagger, like a shard to the heart. The pieces of the mirror were still scattered around the gem. Strangely enough, they seemed to be showing some sort of image… the inside of a chest? Or maybe it was a closet. It was infuriatingly hard to tell, considering 

Remus sucked in a breath. _The mirror was active. How could it be active? Did Roman–_

“You okay over there?” Virgil asked. Remus started, quickly snatching the gemstone and sliding it neatly into his satchel. 

“Amazing!” He called behind him. If Virgil saw his little sleight of hand trick, he didn’t comment. Remus straightened his back, withdrawing the bottle from within his satchel and brandishing it like a weapon. “Now, I think it’s time we get to work…”

Remus uncorked the bottle with a flourish, releasing the bitter scent of gasoline into the garden. Virgil wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Y’know, you could have made it smell better…”

“Aw, that would be cheating!”

“Yeah, because creating a bottle that warps time and space so that you won’t be inconvenienced by carrying around a full bathtub of gasoline _isn’t_ cheating at all,” Janus said snidely.

Remus just shrugged. “Sorry, snake, I don’t make the rules!” Before either of the sides could protest any longer, Remus turned the small bottle upside-down and began a mad dash around the garden. He stuck to the path at first, out of sheer habit, but soon his boredom got the best of him and he began to swerve into what had once been the underbrush of the forest. There wasn’t much to see, honestly– no more bright flowers, or pretty crystals, or glowing mushrooms to light his path. It didn’t matter, though. Soon, the entire place would be glowing in the firelight of destruction. _That’s a good line,_ Remus thought happily, _I must remember to use it later._ He continued to loop through the forest, trailing gasoline behind him in a shining ribbon until he finally returned to Virgil and Janus.

“Are you ready?” Janus asked, his eyes glittering with excitement. Although he pretended to be calm and collected, he could enjoy setting things on fire as much as the next person. Virgil offered him a smile as well, although he looked a bit more cautious. 

Remus nodded vigorously. He pulled three matches out of his bag and presented two to his companions, explaining: “Ok, on the count of three, we drop them into the stream of gas–”

“Unlit?” Janus asked, twirling his match in gloved hands. 

Remus sighed and snapped his fingers. The three matches suddenly erupted into green flame. Virgil lept back, startled, and even Janus couldn’t suppress a blink of surprise. Remus smirked. 

“Ok, so on the count of three we drop them, and the entire garden will go up in _flames–_ ”

“This doesn’t seem safe,” Virgil grumbled. 

“Oh no, I hope the imaginary fire doesn’t burn us… it’s not like we have access to healing potions, or the ability to respawn, that would be _ridiculous_ –” Janus teased.

“I just don’t want anyone getting hurt!”

“Can we just start? Please??? I really wanna arson this place with you guys!”

Janus smiled and held his own match over the stream of gasoline. “Well, the family who burns together earns together!” 

Remus laughed and Virgil groaned, and both sides placed their hands over the gasoline in line with Janus’s. Remus closed his eyes and took in an invigorating breath of gasoline. “Alright, fam, three… two… ONE!”

Three matches fell to the floor. Virgil acted quickly, tugging his two friends backward as bright pillars of lime-green flame spouted into the air, higher and hotter than they logically should be. The three landed in a pile on the ground, The eerie lime lighting reflecting off of Janus’s scales and Virgil’s pale complexion made three of them look like a pile of Disney villain rejects. 

Remus hollered in delight and pumped both fists into the air. “HELL YEAH! BURN IT ALL TO THE FUCKIN’ _GROUND!_ ” He laughed maniacally, a sound that would have made any cartoon villain proud. 

Janus flipped off the flames, and Virgil nudged Remus and whispered: “Blaze it, amirite?” 

Remus laughed. “YES! WE SHOULD DO DRUGS AFTER THIS!”

Janus rolled his eyes. “We should find the new side after this,” He scolded, before his expression turned soft. “There’s not too much of a rush, of course… and this blaze is so warm...” With a contented sigh, the snake reclined further onto the ground, closing his eyes and folding his arms under his head. 

“Ah, forgot about your whole ‘cold-blooded-heat-kink’,” Remus said with a laugh. Janus snapped his eyes open to glare at Remus, who only returned a smile. “Just teasing ya, snake. You know you love me.”

“Do not,” Janus grumbled. Still, he didn’t protest as Remus put his head on top of his stomach. Virgil chuckled, taking off his jacket and bunching it up to use as a pillow. 

Remus smiled at the two of them, snuggled in the glow of his prison ablaze. He felt so warm inside, here with these two. He felt like his heart was being held at the perfect distance over a fire, until it was all gooey and golden-brown and delicious. _Which reminds me…_

“Hey guys! I brought marshmallows!” Remus sat up, early fumbling around in his satchel for the sugary treats. Instead, his hands brushed something cold and hard. Remus’s blood suddenly turned to ice. _The gem…_

There was a small part of himself that had almost believed it had been a hallucination. He wasn’t exactly unfamiliar to those… still, here it was. In his hand. Remus gripped it tight, out of… anger? Desperation? Hope? He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the gem, or his brother. 

“Something wrong, Re?” Janus asked, although his voice was coated with exhaustion. At least Remus didn’t have to worry about figuring out how Janus and Vee felt about Roman– they had made their opinions very clear, and they weren’t exactly favorable. Janus thought he was “a puppet, a pawn of Morality, a shallow wading pool that is a disgrace to the ocean that once was Creativity,” and Virgil just resented him for the whole “trapped in a shadowy form” thing. 

But Remus had to decide what he thought for himself. And… he still couldn’t decide! Roman had been his best friend, his only friend– and then he had abandoned him. But Patton made him do that, it wasn’t his fault. But still, wasn’t that even more proof that Roman was just a puppet for Morality to use as he wished? But if that was true, why would he reactivate the mirror? 

“Seriously, Remus, are you alright?” A hand on his back made Remus turn with a start. Janus’s eyes were wide with concern. Something about his caring expression made Remus want to sob uncontrollably. Because Janus was _here_. And Roman… wasn’t. 

Something inside of Remus hardened, turning sharp and sheer like glass. He didn’t need a father who hated him, or a teacher who didn’t care enough to help, and he certainly didn’t need a brother who was too scared to _talk_ to him. He already had a perfectly good family right here. 

With one deft motion, Remus hurled the gem into the inferno. It landed with a satisfying thunk, and Remus turned back to Janus with a satisfied expression on his face. “Never better! Thanks for asking, Snake-in-my-butt.”

Janus gave him a playful shove. “Just making conversation, I really couldn’t care less.”

“Yeah. But really, thanks. For being here. Both of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Janus replied, looking embarrassed. 

“Where else would we be? Leaving you alone with a giant fire?” Virgil asked. 

Remus cackled. “Guess you learned your lesson from last time, huh? Anyway, enough with all this mushy stuff! Time for sugary delights!” He pulled the bag of marshmallows out of his satchel with a flourish. 

Virgil took one in his outstretched hand. “Wow, these are… surprisingly normal, Remus. I’m impressed.”

“Marshmallows already have ground-up cow feet in them! Can’t fix what’s not broken, right?”

Virgil grimaced but shoved the marshmallow into his mouth anyway. Janus carefully snapped a thin branch off of a nearby bush and stuck his own marshmallow on the end, while Remus used a sharpened femur he had also packed for the journey. “Maybe we can roast some extra ones for our hidden citrus friend, right? A little ‘welcome to the family’ treat!”

Janus and Virgil agreed with his plan, and together the three enjoyed their desserts until the entire garden had been reduced to black ashes. 

“Alright. Well, this was a horrible waste of time.” Janus fibbed. 

Virgil stretched and dusted the ash off of his hoodie. “Yeah, we should probably get going…”

“Hey, I was thinking about redoing my uniform in black!” Remus said excitedly, looking at the smears of still-warm charcoal on his gray sleeves. 

“Hell yeah, join the emo side.” Virgil offered. “I can hit you up with some MCR…”

“We can talk about your fashion sense and Virgil’s man-crush on Gerard Way later.” Janus ignored the way Virgil blushed through his pale foundation as he made his way over the crumbling garden wall once again. “We have a side to find.”

“We have a little brother to find,” Remus corrected, running after Janus. “And I’m so excited to meet him!”

Remus didn’t look behind him as he left the garden for the final time. He didn’t even think about it– or think about not thinking about it. He just kept looking straight ahead. 

_Everything stays_

_Right where you left it_

_Everything stays_

_But it still changes_

_Ever so slightly_

_Daily and nightly_

_In little ways_

_Everything stays_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! this au will continue (probably with some more stuff focused around Roman, but I also have a Deceit-centric oneshot planned out and OH BOY is it angsty) but I actually am going to take a break from it to write more things!!! mainly roceit things!!! but never fear, the angst shall return eventually!!!  
> ~Sphinx


End file.
